Tuesday Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Surprise

My eyelids flutter open. I look around my room, and no one’s there.

I sluggishly slide out of my bed, and go down to the kitchen to grab a Diet Coke.

I go downstairs, to find Mom sitting on the couch, a smile on her face, and excitement in her eyes.

“Hey, EJ,” she says. “You were asleep for two hours. Are you tired?”

“Not anymore.”

“I have some very good news for you.”

“Cool,” I say halfheartedly. “So, what’s going on?”

“Your Father called,” she says.

“How does he know our number?” I ask, not exactly excited.

“He lived here,” she answers. “Nine years ago, remember? Our phone number hasn’t changed.”

“I guess that makes some sense,” I say. “So what did he want?”

“He’s coming to visit us next week!” she says. She jumps up and does a sort of happy dance, and then turns and looks at me. “Aren’t you excited?”

“No,” I mutter.

“Why not?”

“He’s been gone for nine years,” I say. “It’s just…never mind. That’s great.”

“Are you sure? I can call him back and tell him that it’s not a good time,” she offers.

“No. It’s fine.”

“Alright.” She shrugs as she walks out of the living room. “Call for me if you need anything.”

“I think I’ll be just fine,” I sigh. “Where does Dad live?”

“Flippin, Arkansas.”

“Arkansas? He’s flying here?”

“Yes,” she says. “He got a nice job out there and he can support himself with money left over.”

“We’ll see about that,” I say, my eyes narrow.

“What?”

“Oh, um, nothing,” I say and I begin to walk back upstairs.

“Okay,” she says, strong doubts coloring her voice.

“Shut up,” I quietly tell the voice in my head that says to give my Dad a piece of my mind when he gets here.

I don’t know if it’s wrong for me to feel the way I do about my Father coming to visit. It feels like he’s barging into my life, and he doesn’t care if I like it or not.

He left when I was six, and now that I’m fifteen, he decides that now’s a good time to come back?

I lie back on my bed and think. I think about how Hallie and Haley have never met my Dad. I wonder if they’re going to like him.

My eyes flicker over to the window. The sun’s yellow beams are beginning to disappear, and the moon steals away its location so it can light up the night.

“Why does life have to be so hard?” I groan. I’m feeling uncharacteristically whiny. “I should be happy about this! But somehow, I manage not to be. Do I need therapy?”

My mom knocks on the door. I roll my eyes, annoyed.

“Come in!”

“It’s just a hunch, but I think that you don’t want your father to come,” she says.

“No, I’m cool with it,” I lie. “It’s just that I’m nervous that he won’t like me.”

“Are you sure?” she asks, tucking her short brown hair behind her ear. “It sure seems like you don’t want him to come.”

“Honestly, mom, I’m fine with it.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, I can definitely tell him not to come.”

I shake my head and she walks out, shrugging as she does.

I get out of my bed and grab a piece of paper and a pencil to draw.

I sit at my desk, my hand hovering over the paper. I begin drawing, intending to draw another flower like the one I gave to Carly, but my hands don’t agree.

As I sit back and look at the paper, I realize that I drew what I remembered of my Father. I look at the picture, puzzled about how my mind and my hands were completely different.

I remember my Father’s firm jaw, pointy nose, and narrow eyes. He was a tense business man who didn’t know how to forget his cares. It was one of the things that my parents always fought about.

I sigh and bury my face in my hands. I want to cry, but my eyes remain dry. I want to scream, but my mouth stays shut. I want to draw a dumb flower, but there’s still a picture of my dad on my paper.

Shorter than usual, but I couldn't think of much more to put into this chapter.